DRAGON TALES

Vietnam - September 2012

Congratulations Linh and Can!

Extreme hardships have not stopped these two young men from achieving their dreams

Linhs early life is one we know too well at Blue Dragon. He lived in Dien Bien Province in the far north of Vietnam, growing up in extreme poverty with few opportunities to attend school. Human traffickers saw how vulnerable his family was and pounced, taking him far away to work 17 hours a day in a garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City. When Linh was rescued by Blue Dragon, he was determined to take all the opportunities we could offer for education and training. This April, the 23 year old finished an extensive course as a security guard at the Hilton Hotel with flying colours. He now works with the Chief of Security and, most importantly, he has the skills to provide him with a stable job for years to come. We are so proud of your achievements, Linh!

Have you heard about Can on our Facebook page or the blog? Hes gone from selling flowers on the streets to becoming an international high school graduate! We rescued Can from the streets of Ho Chi Minh City in 2006. He had been out of school for some years, but he earned a high school scholarship offered by Chatsworth International School in Singapore. We were thrilled to watch him graduate with his classmates this May! Its not easy for anyone to live in a new country, studying in a foreign language and being far from home. Cans poise and great attitude were an inspiration to us all. Can is now applying for universities both in Vietnam and overseas. He is nervous but excited and happy to be home with his friends at Blue Dragon. Were looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you, Can.

Whatever it Takes Appeal

You can give kids like Linh and Can the chances they need. With your support we will provide food, care and warmth to kids who are out on the streets living in danger right now and rescue girls from brothels and kids from factories and get them safely home. Donate so we can care for over 2,000 kids in 2013-2014. Thank you to all our friends who have donated so far to our $192,000 goal. Were 70% of the way there! Watch the movie Whatever it takes we will get kids out of danger. It was produced with technical support provided by The Big Umbrella, and features our staff and kids and a wonderful song especially composed for us by Toni Randle.

www.streetkidsinvietnam.com

info@bdcf.org

DRAGON TALES

Whats New at Blue?

The Early Intervention Centre
Theres big news for Blue Dragons littlest kids: weve opened an Early Intervention Centre for children 11 and under! The Centre welcomes young kids at high risk of ending up on the street without support. There is plenty of space to play, relax and learn with supervision from our team. Thanks to DH Ross Foundation, WP Schmitz Stiftung, AFAP, CRS and Accor Group for providing everything the kids need!

Vietnam June 2013

Visitor Highlights
Windermere Adventure Challenge Team, a group of adventurous fundraisers, visited in May and donated fans that are cooling the kids down in the sweltering summer heat. We hosted five future United States Embassy Hanoi staff in April as part of an intensive language course. It was great to talk about our work to them in Vietnamese! Claudia fundraised at school and brought lots of gifts, like games and Vietnamese comics, when she and her family visited this April. Check out her report! Our kids benefited from fun activities led by students from United World College in Singapore for project week: roller skating, computer skills and photography.

Annual trip for kids with disabilities

Some of the Blue Dragon kids are deaf, some are blind, others are confined to wheelchairs, and many have intellectual impairments. Their lives can be very difficult, especially because their families live in poverty. There are few services and fewer opportunities to do anything relaxing or fun. All kids need the chance to play and spend time with their peers, so every year the kids with disabilities in the Blue Dragon family go on a trip...to beautiful Halong Bay! This year we went to the beach, sang karaoke, visited a water park and had a great time. Nine Blue Dragon staff volunteered to come and provide support, so the kids carers got a much needed break. Halong Pearl Hotel welcomed us again this year for free, and Exotissimo Travel provided transport for all 41 kids, their carers and our Trinh, who was born visustaff. Thank you for your continuing generosity. ally impaired, had a great
Everyone was a winner at the sack race!

time on the trip. Watch her story here

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Getting Results
Lan Anhs story
Just because our name is Blue Dragon Childrens Foundation doesnt mean we dont help entire families actually, thats a big part of what we do! Lan Anh* is a 35 year old single mother with four children. Her family has been poor for generations, and Lan Anh has been working since she was 15. She never learned to read or write, and was not legally registered as a Vietnamese citizen. Without legal papers, Lan Anh knew her children would have few opportunities in the future. She decided to act, and a local NGO referred her to Blue Dragons legal team.

DRAGON TALES
Vietnam June 2013

Lan Anh with her son and his birth certificate

Our first challenge was approaching her local government. She had no documentation, so her request for registration was refused. There was nowhere to start. No family history. No proof of residence. Nothing. The only solution was to go to her mothers village in a neighboring province. Our team found out more about her family background, explaining the situation to local authorities and requesting official documents. One policeman was concerned that the request might be rejected, but he stood up and told our staff that he had a moral reason to help Lan Anh. If I have to go to prison for helping this family, Im willing to! With this momentum, we were able to get Lan Anh and her children the legal papers they needed in just two days. Lan Anh and her children are no longer invisible. The legal papers have given them long-term security: her children can go to school, she can work officially and the whole family can go to the hospital. Holding the residential papers and birth certificates in her hand, she cried and hugged our staff. She told her children, We are human beings now, we are recognised as people.

This official document gives her property rights

Getting Prepared for the future

In March, Blue Dragon staff organised a career-training workshop for 50 Grade 12 students in rural Bac Ninh Province. Students focused on how to choose a career, find free vocational training programs and explore options for scholarships to university. Workshops like this are not usually available to kids in poor rural provinces, so the students had a special opportunity to gain knowledge and - importantly - the confidence and resources to act on their futures.
A Grade 12 student shares her thoughts

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DRAGON TALES

Featured fundraisers
Vietnam - September 2012
Lycee Francais Alexandre Yersin in Hanoi held a flea market in June to benefit our social work with street kids. They raised an amazing $930 by selling clothes, books, toys and DVDs on one of the hottest days of the year so far.

Vietnam June 2013

Merci beaucoup, Lycee Francais!

Happy Birthday Deb! Deb from Australia set up a Facebook event and instead of friends buying her a drink, they made donations through AFAP. Together they raised $355!

The Wheres Wally Mongol Rally team are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime. Alby, Mike and Thomas will drive from London to Ulaan Bataar for charity starting on 15 July. Stay safe boys, and send us a postcard! Visit their blog if youd like to sponsor their trip. The Canadian Embassy is celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. In June they held a lovely Gala to benefit Blue Dragon. Over $6,700 was raised through a raffle with great prizes like a motorbike, flights and hotel stays.

Hanoi International School raised $820 at a Blue Day in May, where students and faculty all wore blue! They invited the school community to learn about our work through student presentations. Great job!

Thank you to everyone who attended our fundraisers in Sydney, Melbourne and NSW Central Coast or supported us with fantastic raffle prizes! All of the $22,867 raised will go towards our crisis services for kids in need.

Staff Profile: Phuong Nguyen Thi Social Work Assistant You used to be a Blue Dragon kid yourself. When did you start? When I was 16, I heard about Blue Dragon from friends. So I started hanging out with them at the centre and then attended English classes. Later, Blue Dragon supported me to complete a vocational training course in accounting. Im 23 now. Why did you decide to work for Blue Dragon? I volunteered here whenever I had free time. I always had a passion for working with children, so when I finished university, a Blue Dragon social worker asked if I want to work as an assistant. I thought a lot about it and decided to do it. Whats the difference between being a kid and a staff member here? Many things. It was very hard at first since Im quite young. As a staff member, I had responsibilities which were not expected from me as a kid. But its made me realise that Im a grownup now. Whats the best part of your job? Things I learnt from social workers when I was a kid, like life skills and art, I can now pass on. Also, I like working with young kids - older kids can be really stubborn! Meet the rest of our team here.

Blue Dragon Childrens Foundation is an Australian grassroots organisation. We rely on support from donors, sponsors and fundraisers around the world to continue our work with disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. If you would like to be involved, please email info@bdcf.org.

www.streetkidsinvietnam.com

info@bdcf.org